In light of the recent drowning death of an 8-year-old boy in a swimming pool on a cruise ship, cruise safety is in the spotlight, and travel industry experts are offering cruise safety tips to passengers.

Chicago is surprisingly easy to visit with children, maybe even too easy. There is an array of kid-friendly museums, shops, shows, trolleys and tours, centrally located so that they require little transportation or street smarts.

When travelers think about vacation rentals, they almost always think of Airbnb. Yet a handful of websites is striving to disrupt the vacation rental market by appealing to families with children or jet-setters seeking luxury villas. This is a guide to some of the upstarts that all too often end up in the shadow of Airbnb.

Montpellier, France, is a lovely place. But it went unnoticed before this author’s latest trip there, for Montpellier is the home of her in-laws and visiting them was not a terribly relaxing affair. Until she had a baby.